**Abstract**

Campylobacteriosis is caused by Gram-negative and spiral-shaped microaerophilic *Campylobacter* bacteria. Different avian hosts are commonly infected with *Campylobacter* species. Among 16 *Campylobacter* species, infections are mostly caused by thermophilic *Campylobacter* jejuni and *Campylobacter coli. C. jejuni* and *C. coli* are well adapted to the avian intestinal tract and produce little or no clinical diseases in poultry. Although thermophilic *Campylobacters* are commensals in poultry, their significance is due to food safety and public health apprehensions. The majority of human *Campylobacter* infections are caused by *C. jejuni*, followed by *C. coli*, and rarely by *C. lari*. *Campylobacter* infections have now emerged as leading bacterial causes of foodborne gastroenteritis in humans throughout the world. Human Campylobacteriosis cases are sporadic and the disease is characterized by self-limiting watery and/or bloody diarrhea, abdominal pain, and fever; however, severe conditions may occur if patients are immunocompromised. The high prevalence of *Campylobacter* in the intestinal tract of poultry results in contamination of poultry carcasses and poultry products. Handling and eating raw or undercooked poultry meat is considered a significant risk factor for human campylobacteriosis. To ensure food safety and prevent human campylobacteriosis, eradication of *Campylobacter* from the human food chains, especially poultry and poultry products, is indispensable.

**Keywords:** campylobacteriosis, *Campylobacter* infections, *Campylobacter jejuni*, *Campylobacter coli*, *Campylobacter lari*, poultry-born *Campylobacter*, public health, food safety

### **1. Introduction**

Campylobacteriosis is a bacterial infection affecting both wild and domestic birds and is caused by thermophilic *Campylobacter*. Two important species of genus *Campylobacter*, that is, *C. jejuni* and *C. coli* are responsible for producing disease in

birds. *Campylobacter* species are gram-negative rod-shaped bacteria. *Campylobacter* is an enteric organism that inhabits the intestinal tract of birds and is excreted through feces [1]. The disease is primarily spread horizontally, and vertical transmission is thought to be quite uncommon. It is a significant zoonotic infection that causes diarrheal sickness in humans when consumed through tainted meat, food, and water. Human intestinal campylobacteriosis symptoms include fever, diarrhea, and stomach pain. The clinical course of enteritis usually resolves on its own, but some infected people experience severe post-infectious complications such as autoimmune diseases that affect the brain system, joints, and intestinal tract. Moreover, systemic pathogen spread in immunocompromised people might result in circulatory disorders and septicemia [1].

As a pathogen, *Campylobacter* is extremely important for both public health and food safety. Human campylobacteriosis is typically caused by *C. jejuni*, followed by *C. coli*, and less frequently, *C. lari*. Treatment failures in human patients have been caused by the development of resistance in many avian *Campylobacter* isolates to antibiotics such as macrolides and fluoroquinolones [2]. *Campylobacter* infections are estimated to cost society several billion dollars yearly in socioeconomic expenses.

Major human infection sources include poultry meat products. To lessen the burden of campylobacteriosis, public health authorities, veterinarians, doctors, researchers, and legislators must work together under the guiding principle of "One World—One Health" [3, 4]. Improvements in information dissemination to strengthen hygiene measures for agricultural remediation are among the innovative intervention regimes for the prevention of *Campylobacter* contaminations along the food chain. Novel intervention tactics strengthen both the decrease of pathogen contamination in food production and the treatment of the related disorders in people because it is not possible to completely eradicate *Campylobacter* from the food production chains [2].
